To be a man, to have been born without knowing it or wanting it, to be thrown into the ocean of existence, to be obliged to swim, to exist; to have an identity; to resist the pressure and shocks from the outside and the unforeseen and unforeseeable acts - one's own and those of others - which so often exceed one's capacities? And what is more, to endure one's own thoughts about all this: in a word, to be human.
Interpretation
This quote explores the complexities and burdens of human existence and identity.
Ivo Andric's quote delves into the existential challenges faced by individuals in navigating life, emphasizing the involuntary nature of existence and the struggle against external pressures and internal reflections. It highlights the journey of being human as one filled with both inherent difficulties and the imperative of self-identity amidst uncertainties.
In practice
In a speech about personal growth, one might say, 'As Ivo Andric stated, to exist is to face the pressures of life and still have the courage to be yourself.'
Of everything that man erects and builds in his urge for living nothing is in my eyes better and more valuable than bridges. They are more important than houses, more sacred than shrines. Belonging to everyone and being equal to everyone, useful, always built with a sense, on the spot where most human needs are crossing, they are more durable than other buildings and they do not serve for anything secret or bad.
It seems to me, that if people only knew how hard it was for me to endure life, they would find it easier to forgive me for all the wrong things I’ve done and all the good things that I have failed to do. And they would still find a little compassion within them to pity me.
Forgetfulness heals everything and song is the most beautiful manner of forgetting, for in song man feels only what he loves.
That wild beast which lives in man and does not dare to show itself until the barriers of law and custom have been removed, was now set free.
Lands of great discoveries are also lands of great injustices.
Between the fear that something would happen and the hope that still it wouldn't, there is much more space than one thinks. On that narrow, hard, bare and dark space a lot of us spend their lives.
Animals are sentient, intelligent, perceptive, funny and entertaining. We owe them a duty of care as we do to children.
Are we in love with God or just His stuff?
I believe that men are generally still a little afraid of the dark though the witches are all hung, and Christianity and candles have been introduced.
God is not external to anyone, but is present with all things, though they are ignorant that He is so.
Sir, usually I do preach for souls, but my orphans cannot eat souls. And if they could, it would take four souls the size of yours to make a square meal for just one orphan!
Wine is like the incarnation--it is both divine and human
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